How to care for money tree with long leafless stem

perigFebruary 11, 2013

Hi,

Thanks for all the great messages on this site. Learned a lot already!

I've had this braided money tree for over 3 years and it had been doing well. About 4 months ago we had little bugs on the tree that infested our house so we move the tree outside on our patio for about 2 weeks. It was pretty cold outside... After that we moved it back inside. The bugs are gone but the tree lost all its leafs on the longer stem that is about 5 feet tall. See attached image.

I believe 3 of the braided stems are dead as they feel very dry and they have no leaves or branches out of them. The other 2 started to create a lot of new small branches and leaves and are growing nicely.

A few questions.

- Should I cut the long stem all the way down even though it does not seem dead? Should I cut it half but not all the way and can it crate new branches and leaves then?
- Should I remove the dead braided branches? Could they possibly rot if I leave them there? I don't want to damage the new branches though.

I want to get the tree looking nice again. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Hello!
Don't prune it yet. Wait until closer to mid-Summer.
You'll want to allow the tree to regain some vitality before pruning. The growth that comes after the pruning will be healthier, fuller, and faster.

OK so I guess I'll just let it be until this summer. how about those dead braided parts. Can I trim those without risking to damage the tree and do I risk to have those rot eventually over time as they are quite dead.

On the flip side, I can just monitor and if they start to become soft and mushy I can cut them then?